{
  "id": "dict_004067",
  "term": "Obal",
  "slug": "obal",
  "letter": "O",
  "entry_type": "biblical_proper_name",
  "entry_family": "theological_term",
  "depth_profile": "standard",
  "short_definition": "Obal is a biblical proper name in the Table of Nations, listed among the descendants of Joktan in Genesis 10:28.",
  "simple_one_line": "Obal is a descendant of Joktan named in Genesis 10:28.",
  "tooltip_text": "A biblical proper name in the genealogy of Joktan.",
  "aliases": [],
  "scripture_references": [],
  "original_language_terms": [],
  "related_entries": [
    "Joktan",
    "Genesis 10",
    "Table of Nations",
    "Ebal"
  ],
  "see_also": [
    "Genealogy",
    "Biblical names",
    "1 Chronicles 1:22"
  ],
  "lede_intro": "Obal is a minor biblical proper name found in the Table of Nations. Scripture lists him among Joktan’s descendants but gives no further narrative detail.",
  "at_a_glance_definition": "A descendant of Joktan named in Genesis 10:28.",
  "at_a_glance_key_points": [
    "Appears in the post-Flood genealogy of nations",
    "Listed among Joktan’s descendants",
    "No narrative or doctrinal development is attached to the name",
    "May be compared with the related spelling in 1 Chronicles 1:22, noted cautiously"
  ],
  "description_academic_short": "Obal appears in Genesis 10:28 as one of Joktan’s sons in the genealogy of post-Flood peoples. Scripture gives no narrative detail about him beyond this listing. The name is best treated as a biblical proper name rather than a theological concept.",
  "description_academic_full": "Obal is named in Genesis 10:28 as one of the descendants of Joktan in the Table of Nations. The passage functions as a genealogy tracing the spread of peoples after the flood, and it does not assign doctrinal meaning, narrative actions, or symbolic significance to Obal. A related spelling appears in 1 Chronicles 1:22, where the name is given as Ebal; the relationship between the forms should be noted cautiously and should not be overstated. As a result, Obal belongs in a biblical proper-name category rather than a theological-term category.",
  "background_biblical_context": "Genesis places Obal within the line of Joktan, one of the genealogical branches listed in the Table of Nations. The entry serves to mark ancestry and the distribution of peoples, not to provide biography or teaching.",
  "background_historical_context": "Biblical genealogies often preserve names that identify clans, ancestral lines, or remembered family groups. Obal is one of many such names whose significance lies primarily in lineage rather than in recorded deeds.",
  "background_jewish_ancient_context": "Ancient Jewish readers commonly treated genealogies as meaningful records of descent, identity, and the ordering of nations. Even so, Scripture gives no extra detail about Obal beyond his place in the list.",
  "key_texts_primary": [
    "Genesis 10:28"
  ],
  "key_texts_secondary": [
    "1 Chronicles 1:22"
  ],
  "original_language_note": "The Hebrew name is preserved in the genealogy of Genesis 10:28. A related form appears in 1 Chronicles 1:22 as Ebal, so the relationship between the two spellings should be handled carefully and without dogmatism.",
  "theological_significance": "Obal has little direct theological content. His inclusion supports the biblical theme that God oversees the formation and dispersion of nations and that genealogies matter in redemptive history.",
  "philosophical_explanation": "The entry illustrates how Scripture records persons differently from concepts: a proper name can be historically important without carrying a developed doctrine or moral lesson.",
  "interpretive_cautions": "Do not build doctrine from Obal’s name or assume more than the text says. The possible connection with the Chronicles spelling should be noted as a textual/name-form question rather than treated as a settled interpretive claim.",
  "major_views_note": "Some readers treat Obal and the Ebal of 1 Chronicles 1:22 as the same person under variant spelling; others prefer to note the forms as related but not force a precise identification. The biblical text itself does not explain the relationship.",
  "doctrinal_boundaries": "This entry should remain descriptive and genealogical. It should not be used to support speculative ethnographic, symbolic, or prophetic claims.",
  "practical_significance": "Obal reminds readers that even brief genealogical names belong to the biblical record and help trace the history of the nations after the flood.",
  "meta_description": "Obal is a biblical proper name in Genesis 10:28, listed among the descendants of Joktan in the Table of Nations.",
  "public_url": "/companion-bible-dictionary/obal/",
  "json_url": "/companion-bible-dictionary/data/dictionary/obal.json",
  "final_disposition": "PUBLISH_CANONICAL"
}